Fox News: Super Bowl champ says NFL's Rooney Rule a 'joke' to teams, criticizes how Patriots complied

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Super Bowl champ says NFL's Rooney Rule a 'joke' to teams, criticizes how Patriots complied

Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark blasted the New England Patriots on "Inside the NFL" for how they complied with the NFL's Rooney Rule when they hired Mike Vrabel.......                    ...                        ...Ryan Clark, a one-time Super Bowl champion and current ESPN NFL analyst, ripped  the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login for how they complied with the Rooney Rule during their head-coaching search.......The NFL's Rooney Rule, which was created by the NFL's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee in 2003, requires each team with a head-coaching vacancy to interview at least two or more diverse candidates for the job. The rule expanded in 2022 to include interviews for women as part of the "minority candidate definition."......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......The Patriots hired You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login as their next coach about a week after firing Jerod Mayo. The team interviewed Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich to comply with the Rooney Rule – all done before the playoffs were over......."I think this kind of puts a light on the Rooney Rule, which, to me, the New England Patriots made a mockery of," Clark said Thursday on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login "To interview Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich, two coaches who aren't even in football right now, just to fulfill a quota. ......"The Rooney Rule was put in place so some of these minority coaches could get opportunities to get in front of some of the executives and some of these owners, that truly were looking to give the job to the best person. Now, I want to make it clear – I believe we have moved to a point where organizations will hire the best person they feel for the job. But let's not make coaches, who have worked their entire lives for this opportunity, be the token interview.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......"I think a better solution is for teams who want to skip the Rooney Rule, like the New England Patriots probably would have, because they wanted Mike Vrabel, allow them to hire someone on the lower level that reports directly to the head coach, reports to directly to the offensive coordinator, so they could get some of that tutelage that allows their resumes and their careers to build......."Let's stop with the bull-crap interviews just to say we did what the Rooney Rule was supposed to do. When it was implemented initially, I believe it worked. It has now run its course and become something that is a joke to NFL and NFL coaches, and more importantly, to the people it was supposed to help."......Vrabel has a long history with the Patriots, having won three Super Bowl titles with the team during his playing career.......He started his coaching career with the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login in 2018. He was 54-45 with the Titans and led them to three playoff appearances, including an AFC Championship appearance.......Follow Fox News Digital'sYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, and subscribe toYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Login....

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